Efficient Removal of Toxic Dyes via Simultaneous Adsorption and Solar Light Driven Photodegradation Using Recyclable Functionalized Amylopectin–TiO2–Au Nanocomposite

Abstract

Herein, functionalized amylopectin and in situ generated TiO2 and Au nanoparticles (NPs)-based nanocomposite with excellent toxic organic dye removal capacity, via synergistic effects of adsorption and photocatalytic degradation, along with enhanced antimicrobial activity, is reported. The TiO2 and TiO2–AuNPs incorporated nanocomposites (g-AP-pAA/TiO2, g-AP-pAA/TiO2–Au) have been synthesized by the addition of ethanolic solution of titanium isopropoxide (Ti-iPr) followed by HAuCl4 to the gelling matrix of functionalized amylopectin. Characterization results confirm the formation of uniform distribution of anatase TiO2 (5–8 nm) and Au (7–15 nm) NPs in the polymer matrix. The synthesized g-AP-pAA/TiO2–Au nanocomposite demonstrates excellent potential to remove dyes from concentrated aqueous dye solution via simultaneous adsorption followed by photocatalytic degradation under sunlight through plasmonic photocatalysis. Synthesized g-AP-pAA/TiO2–Au is capable of removing one specific dye from a mixture of dyes...